New Delhi: The power woes of the national capital may increase in January as the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in a letter to the Delhi government has warned to clear its outstanding dues by January, or face the discontinuation of power supply. NTPC in a letter to the Delhi government has warned that if the outstanding dues are not paid by January, the power supply to Delhi can be discontinued.

In a letter addressed to the Joint Secretary (Power) on December 15, NTPC said, “Power distribution companies BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani are to pay outstanding dues of Rs 1500 crore.”

According to the letter, BSES Company has approached the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to dismiss the NTPC standards but the company must know that Central power plants do not fall under the DERC.

The letter written by a top NTPC official clearly states that if the BSES does not pay the outstanding dues on time, the allotted 2046 megawatts of power for the capital will be passed on to the other states.

Citing the sincerity of the letter written to the Delhi government on December 7 and requirement of power in the capital, the power was not discontinued but the favour will not be repeated, the letter stated.

According to a senior official of the power department under the Delhi government, the DERC will take the final decision in this regard as it will hear the case on December 20. On the outstanding dues claimed by the NTPC, he said, “It is a usual phenomenon and Delhi is receiving the power supply on a regular basis. But a month’s time is provided to pay the outstanding dues of a single day.”

Amid fears of power supply being discontinued from December 7, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had called a state cabinet meeting to send a comfort letter to the NTPC. The Delhi government had assured in the letter that if the dues are not paid by the private company BSES, the Delhi government will pay the outstanding dues.